About 128,278,550 people worked in the United States as of May 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They averaged $45,230 per year, or $21.74 per hour. The salaries of the highest and lowest paid, and the biggest job groups varied by state. This information applies only to states and does not include territories, such as Puerto Rico, or districts, such as the District of Columbia, that the bureau normally classifies with states.

About 128,278,550 people worked in the United States as of May 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They averaged $45,230 per year, or $21.74 per hour. The salaries of the highest and lowest paid, and the biggest job groups varied by state. This information applies only to states and does not include territories, such as Puerto Rico, or districts, such as the District of Columbia, that the bureau normally classifies with states.

Highest Pay

Massachusetts boasted the highest annual mean wages of any state at $54,740, or $26.32 per hour, for its 3,157,020 workers. The highest-paid occupation for the state belonged to the 1,280 surgeons, who averaged $237,170 per year, or $114.02 per hour. The best-earning occupational group belonged to management, which earned a mean $121,470 per year, or $58.40 per hour. Second for pay was Connecticut, with average salaries of $52,830 yearly, or $25.40 per hour for its 1,608,820 employees. Surgeons also topped the highest-paying list, with 860 receiving a mean $249,760 per year, or $120.08 per hour. Management was also the highest paying job group at a mean $116,880 annually, or $56.19 per hour.

Population

The most populous state in the union, California, also had the highest number of workers, at 14,038,950, earning an average $51,910 per year, or $18.52 per hour. The highest-paying jobs belonged to the 2,840 obstetricians and gynecologists who earned a mean $222,960 annually, or $107.19 per hour. Management occupations were the highest-paying group, averaging $121,980 yearly, or $58.64 hourly, followed closely by legal occupations, at a mean yearly $120,350, or $113,160. Second for population was Texas, where 10,304,370 workers earned a mean $43,090 per year, or $20.72 per hour. The state's oral and maxillofacial surgeons, whose numbers were not estimated by the BLS, earned the best salaries, averaging $247,280 per year, or $118.88 per hour. The highest-paying management group earned a mean annual $104,790 per year, or $50.38 hourly.

Employment

The most-numerous employment category, that of office and administrative support workers, found their greatest numbers in California, with 2,416,400 earning a mean annual $38,160 per year, or $18.35 per hour, followed by Texas, with 1,777,420 workers averaging $32,900 annually, or $15.82 hourly. The state with the highest wages for the occupational group was Connecticut, with 267,420 employees averaging $39,660 yearly, or $19.07 per hour, followed by the 53,320 Alaskans who received a mean $39,380 per year, or $18.93 per hour. Within the office group, the highest-paid workers were first-line supervisors who received their best salaries in New York, where 105,790 earned a mean annual $60,010, or $28.85 per hour. Rhode Island ranked next for pay with 5,680 averaging $58,260 per year, or $28.01 per hour.

Lowest

The state with the lowest wages was Mississippi, where 1,073,100 workers averaged $31,840 per year, or $15.31 per hour. The lowest-paid occupation belonged to the 5,860 counter attendants who worked at cafeterias, food concessions and coffee shops. They averaged $17,250 annually, or $8.29 hourly. The lowest-paid group belonged to food-preparation and serving-related occupations. The 95,320 employed here averaged a mean $18,820, or $9.05 per hour. The second lowest salaries were for the 392,670 workers in South Dakota, who averaged $35,390 per year, or $17.01 per hour. The state’s 1,840 dishwashers had the lowest pay, a mean $17,590 annually, or $8.45 hourly. The group with the same distinction was also food preparation and serving, averaging $19,510 per year, or $9.38 per hour.

2016 Salary Information for Office and Administrative Support Occupations

Office and administrative support occupations earned a median annual salary of $34,050 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, office and administrative support occupations earned a 25th percentile salary of $25,760, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $45,550, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 23,081,200 people were employed in the U.S. as office and administrative support occupations.

About the Author

Aurelio Locsin has been writing professionally since 1982. He published his first book in 1996 and is a frequent contributor to many online publications, specializing in consumer, business and technical topics. Locsin holds a Bachelor of Arts in scientific and technical communications from the University of Washington.